The Black Hole
by Marl0u
Summary: We all know the continuality on Glee isn't always that great. But what happened with all those storylines that ended up in the Black Hole of the Glee-universe? How did Sam and Mercedes break-up? Why is Ryder in the Glee Club?
1. Chapter 1: Ryder

**A/N:** So I came up with this idea last week and I'm going to try to fill in the gaps that Glee left in their storylines. I'll start with Ryder, because we may get an explanation (although I have given up the hope) and I wanted it to be finished. I'm planning to write something about Samcedes and about Joe & Sugar. If you have any suggestion, let me know!

I also want to say this is my first real fanfiction and English isn't my native language, so please forgive my (stupid) mistakes and correct them. That will only make my English better :)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee!**

* * *

It was lunch break at McKinley High and Ryder sat with the guys from the football team and some Cheerios. They were talking fast about the party that Celeste would give next weekend, but Ryder didn't pay attention to it. It had been three weeks since Regionals and he still felt uncomfortable sitting with these people. He had thought that he would be happy to be with them, because he wouldn't be so much of a loser, but he hadn't felt better yet. Of course he had gained some popularity and a lot of people started talk to him again, but there was something keeping him from being happy about that. He didn't know exactly what was bothering him. He had everything he always wanted, but still he felt he hadn't anything.

He noticed a little too late the subject at the table had shifted from Celeste's party to the Glee Club. Ryder tried to ignore the conversation the others were having, because he knew what they would say and he couldn't stand it. They had this conversation at least once a week and Ryder always tried to push the conversation in a different direction, but this time he had been too late to do that in a subtle way. He heard them laughing at Marley's clothes, at Sam's mouth, at Joe's hair and he felt really bad. Although he had been angry when he left the Glee Club, he still considered them as his friends. They had helped him accept his dyslexia and he had so many great moments with them. He almost regretted his decision to leave, but then reminded himself why he had left.

The others at the table just had come to that same topic: Unique. Unique confused Ryder. He really hated him for the prank he had pulled on him. Unique could say as many times as he wanted that he hadn't meant it like that, but Ryder didn't believe it. He had played with his feeling on purpose. Still Ryder couldn't hate him as much as he wanted. He couldn't say mean things about Unique to his new friends, although it would make them accept him faster, he just couldn't do it. Sometimes, when he was trying to fall asleep he wondered what was wrong with him. He should be really pissed at Unique, but why wasn't he? Often he sat straight up filled with horror, because an awful thought passed his mind: Could he be in love with Unique? That thought scared him so much. He already was a dyslexic football player that probably would never leave Lima; he couldn't be gay too, for Unique was still a boy, no matter how he dressed. His parents would probably be more disappointed in him than they already were, and Ryder just couldn't bear that. He rather pretend to hate Unique and stay with the football players that he didn't felt comfortable with than ever admit there was a chance he liked Unique.

As the bell rang, Ryder was still lost in his thoughts about the Glee Club and he almost didn't hear it. Fortunately, Celeste tapped his shoulder. "Are you awake?" She asked with a sweet smile.

Finally Ryder came back from the place he had been with his thoughts. He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I just got lost in my thoughts."

Celeste smiled again. "Happens to me all the time. Are you coming to my party this weekend?"

Ryder was a little surprised she asked. It had been a long time since he had been invited to a party. He would be stupid to decline this invitation and a party would distract him hopefully from his crazy thoughts. So he smiled at her as he got up. "Of course, I will."

* * *

Ryder sat on the couch at Celeste's. There was a red cup in his hand filled with some kind of liquid that obviously contained alcohol. He had no idea how many of these he had or how he had ended up at this couch. He had a light feeling in his head and all the sounds around him blurred into one great noise.

So it took a little before he noticed Celeste sat down next to him and was talking to him. "Excuse me, what did you say?" He had to ask her.

"Do you enjoy the party?" Celeste had to shout, because the music was too loud.

Ryder nodded. "It's a great party!"

Celeste looked happy about that and smiled. Suddenly Ryder realized that Celeste was a beautiful girl. She had beautiful blond hair and her hazelnut-coloured eyes shined as she smiled. "I'm glad you enjoy yourself." She said and Ryder had to concentrate hearing what she was saying and not staring at her face or below that. "I've never thrown a party like this, you see." She continued. "I was really scared that it would be a total disaster, but I think everyone is enjoying it, don't you?"

"Yeah." Ryder now noticed that she had a few freckles on her nose. He had never seen that before. Did she usually cover those up with make up? That would be a shame, because he thought they were cute.

"Even Bree said she liked my party and if Bree likes it… I mean she's the most popular girl in school now that Brittany left for university and Kitty joined that stupid Glee Club."

Ryder felt sick as she mentioned the Glee Club and Kitty. Why did she have to do that? He didn't want to talk about the Glee Club. He didn't want to talk at all. He wanted to count the freckles at her nose. He wanted to feel if her skin was as soft as it looked like.

But Celeste couldn't read his mind of course, as she continued talking about the New Directions. "You were part of that club too, right? What was so interesting about it? I don't get it. It's just singing stupid, gay songs and doing stupid dances. The dance routines the Cheerios do, are really hard, but the Glee Club…"

That was the moment that Ryder really wanted her to shut up. He wanted to feel his lips touch hers. He wanted to wrap his arms around her body. He wanted to feel her warmth. But most of all he wanted her to shut up about the Glee Club. He wanted to kiss her and forget everything else. So that's what he did. He kissed her lips softly. She was surprised, but after a few seconds she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and finally he was able to forget everything.

* * *

He had no idea how he came home that night, but he did. On Sunday he didn't leave his bed, because every time he sat straight up he felt like his head was going to explode. His mom gave a speech about alcohol abuse and made him promise that he would never drink that much again. He hadn't told her he couldn't even remember what he drunk and how much and he'd probably better not tell her anytime soon. Fortunately (or maybe not) he felt better on Monday, so he could go to school. He had just finished his first period and put his English books in his locker, as Celeste came up to him. "Hey!" She said with a smile and Ryder had a small flashback, but it was more of a blur than an actual memory. "How are you? I texted you yesterday, but you didn't reply."

"Uh…yeah…my mom has taken my phone, because I spent all day in my bed yesterday."

Celeste laughed. "If it makes you feel any better, there were lots of people with a hangover."

Ryder smiled too. "I'm not sure if that helps."

"Well, I might know something that helps." Celeste's tone changed, it was somewhat flirty. It startled Ryder. She had never done that before. Did something happen Saturday night? He couldn't remember, it was all a blur.

Celeste didn't really wait for an answer, but kissed him. It was a short kiss, no tongue, just lips to lips. That confirmed Ryder's assumption that something had happened at the party. He wished he could remember what happened. Not only because he wanted to know what he had done, but he also felt guilty, because Celeste did remember.

Fortunately, he was saved by Bree of all persons. "Celeste, we have to go. We have math class."

Celeste smiled at him again before she walked to Bree. As the two Cheerios walked away, Ryder heard Bree say: "I know you two are just a new item, but there's no need to show it that obviously."

Ryder moaned. He wanted to bang his head against the lockers. He and Celeste were an item? God, what had he done Saturday night?

* * *

"Torres!" Ryder saw Anthony Torres after his history class. Anthony was on the football team and he had been on Celeste's party too.

"Lynn." Anthony greeted him, "What's up?"

"What did I do last Saturday night?" Ryder had to ask the question as soon as possible.

To his surprise Anthony started laughing. "You don't remember?"

Ryder's cheeks turned red. "No." He admitted, "I can't remember a thing. It's all a blur. But something must have happened, because Celeste…"

Anthony chuckled. "I know something happened, Ryder. I saw. Everyone saw."

"Saw what?" Ryder felt Anthony was playing games with him and he couldn't take that at the moment. He just wanted to know what happened that night.

"You and Celeste making out… It was pretty obvious. Especially when you two went upstairs."

Anthony was still laughing but Ryder didn't find it funny at all. He had kissed Celeste and maybe even more, if they really went upstairs. He didn't even like the girl. She was nice and pretty, but he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach when he saw her, like he had with Marley and even with Katie when she had been online. What was he supposed to do? Telling her would be bad, but not telling her would probably be worse.

"She's all over you now, isn't she?" Anthony asked.

Ryder nodded a little unwillingly.

Anthony gave a sigh. "Well, that's how girls are. You spent one night with them and they think you'll marry them. Just make clear you don't want to be with her. It'll break her heart, but she'll accept it eventually."

Ryder nodded again. Anthony was right. He would have to tell her. "Thanks man."

Anthony gave little smile. "Good luck. You'll need it if all the Cheerios come after you."

Ryder moaned. He hadn't even thought about that.

* * *

His plan had been to avoid Celeste as much as he could the rest of the day, but that plan failed after his football practise, when Celeste saw him, as he walked out of the locker room. He tried to hide, but it was too late; she had already seen him.

"Ryder." The guilt in Ryder's stomach grew with every second, as she walked to him and smiled. "Where were you at lunch? I was looking for you."

"Uh…" Ryder didn't know what to tell her. _I was in the library trying to avoid you_ didn't seem the best answer. He wanted to tell her he didn't like her in a more subtle and friendly way. "I…I had an appointment with Ms Pillsbury…because of my dyslexia."

Celeste seemed to buy that one. At least she didn't ask more about it. Instead she asked if he wanted to hang out.

"I…uh…" Ryder knew this was the moment to tell her, it had been a mistake, but Celeste didn't give him a chance to say it. She continued talking. "We could go to see a movie or we could go to my house. My parents will be out until late. We could, you know, do things like this."

She kissed him again and Ryder didn't know what to do but kiss her back. She pulled him closer en he felt how her tongue touched his. He needed to push her away. He needed to tell her he wasn't into her. He… Then she wrapped her arms around his waist and Ryder froze. Flashbacks from days he wished he could forget took over his mind. He remembered that night when She was there with him. When She touched him. When She hurt him.

"Stop!" Suddenly he pushed her away. He had to fight. He couldn't let this happen to him again.

Celeste was confused. "W-what?"

"Don't touch me." Ryder snapped. He didn't to mean to say it that harsh, it just happened. He tried to push the awful memories that came up in his head aside, but he wasn't strong enough to do it. He needed some time to convince himself everything was okay and no one what going to hurt him. "Leave me alone."

"Excuse me?" Celeste didn't sound confused anymore, there was a tone of anger in her voice. "That's not what you said Saturday night."

Ryder didn't want to talk to her at all. He wanted to sit in a quiet room and sort out all his thoughts, but Celeste didn't give him a chance. So the words that came out of his mouth sounded more aggressive than he had meant. "That was a mistake. I was drunk and now I don't even remember it, so please leave me alone."

Celeste grasped for air. "You what?"

Something hard hit Ryder in the face and it took a few seconds before he realized Celeste had slapped him in the face. "Jerk!" She yelled at him, before she stormed off probably to her Cheerio-friends.

Ryder felt awful, but he was relieved he was alone again. He sat down at the cold floor and started to calm himself down, trying not to think about what he just had done.

* * *

He had hoped Celeste wouldn't tell anyone, but of course she did and the next day the whole school knew that Ryder Lynn hooked up with Celeste when he was drunk and dumped her a few days later. All the girls at school looked at him like they were going to kill him, but the guys, especially the guys on the football team, found it very funny and teased him all the time. That was okay, because it gave him the feeling that what he had done, wasn't that bad. But he should've known that karma would come around eventually.

After school finished he walked home alone. He lived near the school, so he often walked home. He was lost in his thoughts about Celeste and he didn't see that a group of girls followed him. He only noticed it, when one girl stepped in his way. It was Bree and as he looked around, he saw the group only contained girls in a Cheerio-uniform.

"If it isn't our dear Ryder Lynn. The newest jerk on the football team." Bree said. Her smile was devilish and it scared Ryder. "You thought you could dump Celeste like that, didn't you? Let me tell you something about the Cheerios. We're mean, we're hard and we probably all hate each other but we stick up for each other. If an outsider hurts one of us, you hurt all of us and people that hurt us end up in situations like this."

Ryder never thought a bunch of girls could scare him so much, but the look on Bree's face made shivers go down his spine. "I didn't mean…"

"Of course you didn't." She sounded nice, like she did understand, but it was too nice. She didn't mean it. She was just playing with him. "That's why we brought you a little present."

Ryder didn't want to know what her present was. He just wanted to go home. "Thank you, but I have to decline. I…"

Bree's smile widened and Ryder did a little step backwards. "Oh, I insist. Ladies."

The next thing Ryder knew was that something cold hit him. It was not a slap in the face this time. It was colder and hurt more. From several sides the Cheerios had thrown slushies at him and now it was everywhere: in his hair, in his face, dripping down his back.

"Enjoy your present." Bree said. He couldn't see her for his was covered in slushie and he didn't dare to open his eyes, but he suspected she smiled. He heard how the girls walked away giggling.

He couldn't move. It was like he was paralyzed. He just stood there as the ice spread over his body. He felt awful. First he had broken a girl's heart and now he was covered in ice. He wanted a warm bath, a hug from his mom and most of all he wanted to forget everything that happened this past week.

"Ryder? Are you okay?" He knew that voice. He heard it so many times in Glee Club. It was always proposing ridiculous things, but it was a great singing voice. The last time he really heard the voice speak, it told him it was the person that it belonged to, that had messed with his head all the time. He swore he would never talk to it again. He promised himself he wouldn't speak to Unique again.

"Who did this?" Unique asked.

He didn't answer. He wouldn't break his promise.

"Ryder? Are you okay? Say something." He sounded a little panicked.

Still he didn't answer his question.

"Listen, I know you're still mad at me and you have the right to, but you'll catch a cold. I just want to help you."

He wanted to exploded. Help him? How crazy could that guy be? After all that he put him through there was no way he would let Unique help him.

"Come on, you must be cold."

That was the moment he broke his promise. "Yeah." He murmured.  
"I…I can clean it up a little, if you want. My house is just a block away."

Ryder wanted to refuse, say he'd rather stay here all day, but the thought of a warm house was pretty tempting. Of course it was Unique's house, which wasn't good, but it was a house. The two sides in his head had a heated conflict, but eventually the side that wanted to go with Unique won the fight. "That would be great." He said a little hesitant.

So Unique took him to his house. Ryder didn't see much, because he still wasn't sure if it was save to open his eyes. In his house Unique put him on a chair and started to clean his face with a towel. His movements were soft and gentle, like you would expect from a girl. As he kept his eyes closed, Ryder actually forgot it was Unique that was helping him. He forgot the person that was helping him, was actually a guy and he didn't oppress the warm feeling he had in his chest.

"It's finished." Unique said suddenly, "You need to take a shower of course, but your face is clean again."

Ryder opened his eyes and the dream was over. There was Unique again, but the warm feeling in his chest stayed. Something else had changed too. For the first time in a very long time he didn't see a guy dressed up as a girl, when he looked at Unique. He just saw a girl standing in front of him.

"Are you feeling better?" Unique asked.

Ryder nodded and even smiled. "Yeah. I can feel my face you."

Unique smiled a little shy, which was weird to see, since Unique wasn't shy at all. "You're welcome. Do you need to change your clothes too? You could borrow some of my clothes. My male clothes, that is of course."

Ryder wanted to decline that offer, but he was still cold and dry clothes were tempting. This time the fight in his head didn't take that long. "That would be great."

Unique went to fetch a few pieces of clothing upstairs and left Ryder in the kitchen. It gave him some time to think. He was confused again, but this time it wasn't as bad as it was before. Maybe Unique was a girl after all. When he hadn't seen her, he hadn't noticed the difference. That was a relieve. Of course it didn't matter which sex the person had that had messed with him, but it was a relieve for him, because it meant he wasn't gay after all. There was nothing wrong with being gay. He liked Blaine as much as the other guys, but he didn't want it to be him.

Unique came downstairs with his clothes and told him where he could change. The clothes were too big for Ryder, but he didn't care. They were dry and clean. Unique put his slushied clothes in a plastic bag and gave it to Ryder. "Here you are."

"Thanks. For helping me."

"You're welcome." Unique said again. "How did you end up there actually? Not that it's any of my business."

For this one time Ryder didn't mind. "The Cheerios had their revenge for Celeste. I'm sure you heard of that."

"That was true?"

Ryder looked down and gave a little nod. "Yeah."

There was a pause as both of them looked down not sure what to say.

"I...uhm…have to go." Unique was the first to speak again. "I was actually meeting Marley, Jake, Sam and Sugar at Sugar's. We're preparing something for Glee Club."

Ryder nodded again. He felt his heart ache as he thought of all the times he prepared something for Glee Club. At this moment he would have given everything to go back. Suddenly he realized he didn't need to give anything to go back. Maybe his popularity, but what was left of that after Celeste? The main reason he didn't want to return before was standing in front of him and something had changed between them. He was still mad at Unique for the Catfish-thing, but didn't feel the rage he had felt before. He could be in the room with her without feeling really uncomfortable. He still didn't know what he exactly felt for Unique, but he could sort it out and be in the Glee Club at the same time.

He looked at Unique who probably expected him to leave too. Instead he stood up and smiled friendly. "Mind if I come too?"


	2. Chapter 2: Samcedes's break-up

**A/N: **So this is the untold story of Samcedes... It's not as good as I want it to be, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

I'm not sure about which mistake I'll write next. Maybe about Joe & Sugar... But I'll bet that there will be a lot of continuality errors in this year's christmas episode, since it was supposed to happen last year, so I'll have enough inspiration :D

* * *

"Tina and Mike broke up."

It came out of the blue, but it was clear Mercedes had been dying to tell him. Sam frowned. "They did? But Mike didn't tell me…"

"It only happened last night." Mercedes said and Sam imagined how Tina called Mercedes as soon as she was alone and talked to her all night.

"That sucks." Sam looked at his girlfriend and knew what she was thinking. This was going to be weird. Mike was Sam's best friend and Tina was Mercedes's. That had been really great when they were a couple. Double dates were always fun for all four of them and if Mercedes and Tina had a ladies night, Sam and Mike had a guys night. But now everything was different. They couldn't go on double dates anymore and it would take more time for the both of them to spent time with their best friends. It would also be weird to hang out with just Tina and Mercedes, because Tina was now his best friend's ex. That sucked, because next year there would only be a few of his friends at McKinley and Tina was one of them, but now even that was weird. He looked at Mercedes. "Are you sure?"

Mercedes nodded. "Tina called me last night and this morning Mike changed his status on Facebook to 'single'."

"So Mike broke up with Tina?" Sam felt slightly neglected. His best friend hadn't told him that he was going to break up with Tina. Last week he even told him he couldn't believe Tina and he would be together two years this summer and that he still loved her as he did at the beginning. He must have known he was going to end things with her.

"No, I believe they decided it together. Tina said Mike was afraid of the distance and how things would be next year and then they decided it would be better to break-up."

Sam didn't say anything. He had to admit Mike had a point. Next year everything would be different. Mike would be in Chicago and Tina would be here in Lima. They wouldn't see each other everyday; they wouldn't even see each other every week, since it was too far for Mike to come home every weekend. Of course there was Skype and whatsapp, but Sam knew that wasn't the same. He had tried to stay in touch with Mercedes and his other friends, when he had moved to Kentucky, but it hadn't worked. They all had been so busy with school, Glee Club and in Sam's case: making money.

"It's so weird they're not together anymore. They were the supercouple in the Glee Club. They were even longer together than Finn and Rachel and they never broke up. They were the kind of couple that made each other better. Remember when Tina encouraged Mike to audition for _West Side Story_? He was so great in that!"

"I wasn't there." Sam muttered. He had seen some videos from the school play, but he hadn't seen it, because he had been in Kentucky.

"Excuse me?"

"I wasn't there." Sam repeated. "I was in Kentucky when Mike was playing in _West Side Story_ and when he had a fight with his dad."

"Oh… I forgot. I'm sorry." Mercedes regretted her remark. She knew how lonely Sam had been in Kentucky and how much he had missed them and her. "But it wasn't really worth seeing, since I wasn't in it." She tried to lighten the mood.

A tiny smile appeared on Sam's face that grew to a big smile as he looked Mercedes in the eyes. "That's true. Every play or song you're not in is just a waste."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Mercedes laughed.

"I do. I'm sure you're going to make it in LA." Sam said a little proud, because it had been him to put the video on YouTube. "I believe in you."

"Thanks." Mercedes said and she kissed him. Sam felt the butterflies in his stomach as her lips touched his, but there was something else. A little voice in his head that worried about what Mercedes just told him about Mike and Tina. Sam never expected them to break-up. They were the couple you thought would last forever, but they hadn't. They couldn't handle the fact that they would be so many miles apart. The same reason Finn and Rachel broke up. The little voice is his head started worrying that maybe he and Mercedes wouldn't survive either.

* * *

After Mercedes went home, Sam called his best friend. Mike picked the phone up with the words: "Mercedes told you, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Sam admitted, "I didn't know you were going to."

"I wasn't." Mike sighed, "But the distance just scares me so much. What if I never see her? What if I meet someone new? I don't want to cheat on her. I don't want to hurt her, but such things do happen. And then she said it would be better if we broke up."

Sam didn't say anything. The little voice in his head started to talk louder now. "I'm sorry, man."

Mike didn't say anything for a while. Then he took a deep breath and started talking again. "It's not that I don't love her. I really do, but I'm afraid we'll just end up hurting each other. So I think it's better we end it with a good memory."

"Stop at the top." Sam said with a little smile.

"Yeah. I also gave her the present I got for our second anniversary. It was a necklace with the Chinese sign for love."

"Did she accept it?"

"She did, but she cried and said she felt so sorry she didn't have anything for me. You know Tina. She feels guilty." Mike chuckled.

Sam laughed too. "I know. She's a little crazy. Last week she didn't call Mercedes as she went shopping and they accidently ran into each other. Mercedes said she almost started crying, because she hadn't told her best friend she was going shopping."

Mike chuckled. "That sound exactly like Tina." There was a little pause and then he asked: "What about you and Mercedes? What are you going to do next year?"  
"I…I don't know." Sam said and he cursed himself, because he hadn't said they would be together forever. He didn't know how it happened. Yesterday he hadn't had any doubts, but now it appeared that even Tike wasn't solid, he worried if Samcedes was. "I mean we didn't really talk about it. I guess we'll try."

"LA is further than Chicago." Mike said and then, as he noticed how that sounded: "I'm just saying. I don't want you guys to break-up too. I just want you to think about it."

"I know. I'll think about it. I just can't imagine it will be so different in a few months."

"I know." Mike said and he gave a sigh. "I look forward towards dancing everyday at that level, but I have to admit I'll miss Lima." He laughed. "Can you imagine that?"

"Yes, I can." Sam said. He remembered how he had missed Lima when he was in Kentucky. He was glad he had the chance to live with Finn, Kurt and their parents and come back. He was even happier when his dad had gotten an offer from his old boss to return to Lima. He had moved in with his family a few weeks ago, as the summer holidays started, but he still felt like not everything was as it should be. Rachel had moved to New York already and Finn had joined the army. Puck was setting up his pool cleaning company in LA, Rory went back to Ireland and Quinn, Mercedes, Mike, Santana and Kurt were packing for college or in Mercedes's case for LA. When he finally was in the right place again, everyone was moving away from it. Life could be so cruel.

"Of course." Mike said, "I have to go now, but let's go to the pool tomorrow. My mom says it'll be a hundred degrees."

"Twelve o'clock at my house?"

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Mike hung up the phone and left Sam alone with the little voice in his head.

* * *

The weeks passed by and Sam's doubts grew as he saw his friends leaving one by one. First Quinn left. They all went to her house to say goodbye. She looked happy as she put the last suitcase in the back of the car. Her hair had grown and a smile lightened up her face. Sam remembered that smile from the time that they had been dating. Last year he had barely seen it. He was happy for Quinn that she was going to chase after her dream, but he had to admit he would miss her. They still went to the same church and still were good friends. Quinn was the kind of friend that he would call if he had to buy his girlfriend a present or if Mercedes was moody and she would give him advice. She was like a sister to him.

Puck left a few days after Quinn. He had loaded all his stuff in an old car and Sam wondered if he would make it to LA with that thing. Puck looked as happy as Quinn a few days ago. Sam didn't know what was going on between those two. Mercedes told him they had spent a lot of time together this summer, but it wasn't official. Sam didn't know if it ever would be official. Puck wasn't the type to settle yet, especially not if he and Quinn were so many miles apart. Although Puck and Sam weren't as close as Sam and Quinn, he felt as sad as he had felt a few days ago. Maybe it was because now five of his friends were gone. Rachel, Finn, Rory, Quinn and Puck. He would see them again, but it wouldn't be the same. Nothing would ever be as it was before.

That also applied to him and Mercedes. He watched Mercedes packing her stuff and tried to be happy for her, but everything she mentioned how great LA would be, he felt sad. He knew she didn't mean to hurt him, but everything she talked about LA, he felt she already forgotten him and that hurt. Mercedes did seem to notice something was wrong. She noticed he was moody and he easily picked fights about the most stupid subjects. One night they had a fight about a TV show that Sam didn't even care about.

"How can you say American Idol won't make you famous? You're on national television!"

"That's just five minutes of fame." Sam said angrily as they watched Simon tearing the contestant down.

"It doesn't have to be. If you're talented, you'll get noticed by others."

"So you would try out for American Idol?" Sam mocked and he raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, I would." Mercedes said resolute.

"That's crazy."

"So you think it's crazy I'm chasing after my dream of becoming a singer?"

"No, I…"

"Because that's what it would be. Not everyone can become famous because of a video on YouTube. Some have to be on American Idol. And they'll fail and they'll get up and try again. Because that's how it works."

"Great." Sam didn't want to sound like he didn't care about Mercedes's dream, but he just couldn't pretend anymore to be happy with it. If a few weeks she would be gone to a city where a simple bathroom was more exciting than Lima. Than him.

"What is wrong with you?" Mercedes looked at him, "These past weeks you have been moody and angry and everything I do, offends you."

Sam didn't answer. He wanted to tell Mercedes what was bothering him, so he wouldn't have to pretend all the time to be happy, but he didn't want to spoil her excitement. If he told her, she would feel bad about her dream and he didn't want that either.

"Well?"

"Nothing." He mumbled. "Nothing's wrong."

"Like I believe that." Mercedes rolled her eyes, "I know you, Sam, and I can tell something is wrong."

Sam still didn't want to say anything, but he couldn't stop himself. "I'm scared. Of the future. You'll be in LA."

"We talked about this!" Mercedes said angrily, "Did you change you're mind? Don't you want to be with me anymore?"

"No, that's not it!" Sam said. This was all going wrong. Why did he tell her? It only made things worse. "I want to be with you. I'm just afraid we'll estrange when you're in LA and I'm here."

"Why? Do you think we won't talk to each other anymore? Do you think we won't call or text? Do you have such little faith in us?"

"I…" Sam wanted to protest, but hesitated. Mercedes was right. He had lost his faith in a long distance relationship. After Quinn and Puck left, he had noticed how hard it was to keep in touch with them. He hadn't spoken with Quinn in a week and she was one of his best friends! Of course he had known that keeping in touch with people that don't live near you, is hard. The same had happened as he had moved to Kentucky, but he had hoped it would be different this time, because his friends had graduated. Unfortunately it was exactly the same and now he was losing his faith in a long distance relationship with Mercedes. "Maybe I do."

"That's ridiculous. How long has this been going on? Why did you even try to get me back if you were giving up on me anyway?"

"I didn't know…" Sam protested. He wanted to say some more, but Mercedes didn't give him the chance to do so. She shook off his arm that had been resting on her shoulder and got from the couch. "Well, if you don't want to be with me, I'd better go."

And before Sam had come up with something to stop her leaving, she was gone. He gave a defeated sigh and looked at the TV screen, where Simon Cowell was just doing his usual job at looking not impressed. Frustrated he threw a pillow from the couch at the screen. What was he supposed to do? He wanted to be with Mercedes. He really did. But he also wanted everything to stay the same and that was impossible. Things would change and he wasn't sure if he liked that. So did he want to take that chance or not? He didn't know.

* * *

He didn't talk to Mercedes for five days. He still didn't know what he wanted and he didn't want to bother Mercedes before he knew. Apparently she didn't know either or she was still angry at him. Either way it wasn't good for their relationship, if they even were in one.

Sam spent a lot of time with Mike. He would leave soon and although Sam was also afraid of not keeping in touch with Mike, he knew it would be different than with Mercedes. If he didn't talk to Mike for a week, it wouldn't be weird. They would just play an online game of Call of Duty and catch up, but with Mercedes he couldn't do that. He couldn't explain why not – except for the fact that Mercedes didn't like Call of Duty – but it was different with her.

Mike must have noticed that Sam didn't talk about Mercedes and didn't spent time with her, but he didn't say anything about it. That's why Sam liked Mike. He wasn't the person to ask questions if he knew you didn't want to talk about it. He just let him be.

At least until the evening before his departure. "How is Mercedes doing?" Mike asked.

Sam didn't look at him as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Haven't you talked to her lately?"

Sam hesitated. He didn't want to admit he hadn't, because it made it real. He really hadn't talked to his girlfriend (if she still was his girlfriend) in five days. "Not since Monday."

"Are you guys still together?" The other good thing about Mike was that once he started asking questions, he would just come straight to the point.

"I don't know." Sam said and the horrible feeling he had suppressed for five days spread through his body.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mike asked.

"Not really."

"Okay. I just want to let you know she's coming tomorrow to say goodbye."

Sam nodded. He should have expected that. Mike and Mercedes were also friends and it made sense she would come to say goodbye with the other Glee kids tomorrow. "Is Tina coming?"

"She is." Mike said and a sad smile appeared on his face. "I'm preparing myself for a lot of tears."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, she's probably going to cry."

"She always does." Mike said. He sounded sad and as Sam looked at his best friend, he swore Mike was going to cry himself.

* * *

Sam couldn't sleep that night. He kept thinking about Mercedes and what he would do if he faced her. He only fell asleep as the sunlight crept into his bedroom. A few hours later his mom came to wake him up and tell him he was going to be late and he wouldn't see Mike. As fast as he could, Sam took a shower and got dressed. His dad took the car to his job, so Sam had to walk to Mike's. Everyone was already there. He saw Blaine hugging Mike and Kurt telling him something that they all had to laugh at, except for Tina who was already crying. Mercedes stood next her and held her hand. Sam slowed down and kept looking at her. Suddenly she looked in his direction and they locked eyes. She looked sad, which made Sam even sadder. He felt like he could join Tina at any moment.

Now Mike also noticed him. "I already thought you wouldn't come."

"Of course I would." Sam smiled and he hugged his best friend. It felt weird to say goodbye to him and realize he wouldn't be around anymore whenever Sam needed him.

"As soon as my computer is working properly, I'll send you a text. I'm going to crush you on Call of Duty."

Sam laughed. "You don't stand a chance, Chang."

They both laughed and Mike helped his dad stuffing the last suitcase in the back of the car. He walked towards the group of friends to say goodbye one last time. "I'm going to miss you guys, but remember I'll be back for Thanksgiving."

That was the moment Tina started sobbing a little harder. Mike walked to her and held her tight. She calmed down a little and with a small kiss they said goodbye.

"Bye." Mike said and he got in the car. They all just stood there as his father started the engine and the car started moving.

"Bye." Brittany said loudly and she waved. They all repeated that action until they couldn't see the car anymore.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Santana reminded herself she had to pack some more stuff and conversations started again. Sam looked at Mercedes. She was still holding Tina's hand and tried to comfort her. He had to talk to her. He didn't know what he wanted yet, but he knew he wanted to be with Mercedes now. He walked towards her. "Hey."

She looked at him and gave little smile. "Hey."

Both of them remained silent for a little while with Tina's sobbing on the background.

"I'm leaving Wednesday." Mercedes suddenly said.

"B-but you would only leave next Sunday." Sam said a little shocked. If she left Wednesday, they would only have three days left instead of a whole week. Why was he so stupid to not talk to her?

"I know, but the producer asked me to come a few days earlier."

Sam said nothing. Then he cleared his throat and said: "That's great."

"Yeah…" Mercedes said, although she didn't sound happy. "Sam, what are we right now?"

"I-I don't know." He honestly hadn't a clue if they were still together or not, "I love you, Mercedes. I do. But I'm not sure I can do the long distance thing…"

"We could try." Mercedes said, but she didn't seemed very convinced of that.

"But we could hurt each other and I don't want to hurt you."

"You're right." Mercedes. "I don't want to hurt you either. And I'm sorry of Monday night, when I tried to blame it all on you. The truth is…I have the same worries as you do."

Sam gave a sigh. It was a relieve he wasn't the only one that felt that way, but if the both of them weren't sure of the future of their relationship, what was left of it? "So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Mercedes said.

"I-I k-know." Sam had forgotten Tina was still there. She was still crying, but looking at them with a fierce look in her eyes. "Y-you spent a-a-as much time w-with e-each other as p-possible."

Then she started crying harder and Sam didn't understand anything of what she was saying anymore. The only thing he heard was 'Mike', so he assumed she was having another emotional breakdown.

As Mercedes had calmed down Tina, she looked at Sam. "She's right."

Sam nodded and grabbed Mercedes's hand. "She is."

* * *

The next three days they spent every waking moment with each other. Sam even helped his girlfriend packing. It made him feel horrible on one side because he knew she would leave, but the feeling of being with Mercedes overshadowed that. They ate ice creams together, they watched stupid TV shows on MTV, they sang a million songs with Sam playing the guitar, they laughed until they cried. These were the greatest days of Sam's life, but then that terrible Wednesday came.

Sam woke early, got up and went to Mercedes's house as fast as he could. He helped her dad loading her stuff in the car. She didn't have much baggage, because she would take the plane. Around ten o'clock Mercedes's grandmother came to say goodbye. Sam also got a hug as if he would go with her. Fifteen minutes later the leftovers from the Glee Club arrived. Tina already had tears in her eyes and Sam noticed that Kurt was also about to cry. Maybe he should cry too, but he didn't feel like it. It all felt so unrealistic, like Mercedes wasn't really leaving. The others realized she was, but Sam didn't. He just felt numb. He watched his friends hugging Mercedes, telling her she would make it, promising they would call her and he didn't feel anything. He should feel sad, like he had with Mike, Quinn and Puck, but he just didn't. He wondered what was wrong with him. His girlfriend was leaving and he was just standing there!

They went outside to see Mercedes leave. Tina started sobbing and Kurt joined her. Mercedes hugged both of them again and then turned to Sam. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Sam couldn't help but smile. She knew him perfectly. "No." He said.

"I'm going to miss you." Mercedes said. She looked at her shoes for a moment. "We're not a thing anymore as soon as I'm gone, are we?"

Sam didn't know what to say. Still he didn't know what decision he had to make. "I love you." He said instead of a proper answer.

Tears filled Mercedes's eyes. "I love you too and you'll always be in my heart.

Sometimes not making a decision is also a decision, Sam realized at that moment. He smiled again. "You'll always be in mine."

He kissed her. Tears had started rolling down her face and her cheeks were wet, but it didn't matter. Sam could have stayed in this moment forever, but then Mercedes pulled back and he had to let go.

"Goodbye, Sam." She whispered.

He watched her stepping into the car, waving at her friends. He waved back but he still didn't feel anything. It was only as they drove away, that it hit him.

She was gone.

She wasn't his girlfriend anymore.

He had lost her.

He broke down. Tears streamed down his face and he started breathing heavily. He felt unsteady on his feet, like he could faint any moment.

Mercedes was gone.

"Sam, are you alright?" Sam heard Joe's voice vaguely, as if he was far away.

"Sam?" Now it was Tina's voice too and the others also started talking to him. Someone ordered everyone to give him some space and said Sam should sit down.

Sam obeyed and sat down on the edge of the sidewalk. Tears were still streaming down his face and his breathing was still heavy. "She's gone." He cried. "She's gone."

Tina sat down next to him and let her head lean against his shoulder. "I know."

* * *

The easiest way for Sam to cope with the break-up was to pretend there hadn't been a relationship at all. He put all his photo's of Mercedes in a box and put that box somewhere he couldn't reach it. He deleted all Mercedes's texts from his phone, even the first one that said _I love you_. He changed the background of his phone to a boring landscape and his ringtone that used to be Mercedes singing _Disco Inferno_, to the standard Samsung tune. He even unfriended Mercedes on Facebook after she turned her status into 'single'. He erased Mercedes from his life.

His friends didn't say anything about it, although they all worried. Mercedes was worried too, since Tina kept her up to date, but she didn't dare to mess up Sam's life again.

Eventually Sam found someone that was in the same situation: Brittany. Santana had left and although they tried to keep in touch, it was getting harder and harder. They spent a lot of time together and Sam tried to be positive for Brittany, but somewhere in his mind he knew it would go wrong. So when Brittany started to act weird, he noticed and knew what was going on. It felt good to be there for her. It felt good to be needed again and he started to forget the ache that Mercedes caused him.

When she came back to McKinley to help Finn with Grease, it almost didn't hurt Sam anymore, although he didn't want to talk to her. He was afraid the horrible feeling would come again, if he did. They just locked eyes several times and just before the show started and Mercedes was standing next to him, she spoke. "Don't be nervous." She told him. "You'll be a great Kenickie. I believe in you."

Sam looked at her. He felt the butterflies in his stomach and the pain is his heart. He still loved Mercedes and he would always love her, but their era was over. She would find a new love and so would he. But still it was nice to be with her at his moment. He smiled. "Thank you for believing in me like I believe in you."


End file.
